Return of the 'Burrito Nation' Expatriot
(First of a two-part series)
Edward Barrios Acevedo

I love Mexican food. I grew up on it in Southern California.

In my years working and traveling throughout Europe, I especially missed it. Even as I sampled many wonderful international cuisines, there was never a time when I wouldn’t have traded one of those fabulous meals for a giant carne asada burrito at King Taco.

Arriving in the chilly air of Sweden’s autumn two years ago, the thought of getting used to eating the equivalent of twigs and yogurt for breakfast or blood pudding or pickled herring for dinner was like asking me to give up coffee. It would never happen, I said.

As autumn passed and the Swedish winter grew bitter and dark, I desperately needed comfort food. Enchiladas, tamales and menudo would have done just fine. I longed to start my day with warm, fresh sweet Mexican bread or eggs con chorizo, drenched in Tapatío Hot Sauce, between warm, steaming tortillas.

Instead, I drank filmjölk, a tart dairy drink that resembles runny yogurt, to which a handful of blueberries or nuts are added. The Swedes love this stuff and buy it by the gallon (or by liters, actually).

I reluctantly feasted on the country’s celebrated crisp bread, or knäckebröd. It tasted like thick, stale taco shells, even with sliced cheese, ham or butter. Once a week, I enjoyed Swedish pancakes with cloudberries that were uniquely tasty.

Sweden is not the end of the universe. Guided by my craving for fast food, I did find McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, Burger King and even Subway, all the familiar places I knew. They weren’t convenient and certainly weren’t cheap. Combo meals were often twice as much as in the United States, and if I wanted ketchup for my fries, there was an extra charge.

As time passed, I found myself slowly opening up to the healthy Swedish diet. Like the rest of Europe’s inhabitants, the Swedes aren’t fond of processed foods. Nearly everything is prepared from scratch at home, which makes it a little fresher and tastier.

After several months, I found myself shopping for filmjölk. I even developed a taste for my own favorite brand of crisp bread and pickled herring. I became accustomed to eating slices of blood pudding with lingonberry jam, something I wouldn’t have thought possible months earlier.

Instead of going out for dinner, I learned about healthy shopping and cooking at home. Restaurants were for special occasions, in part because of their enormously high costs, also for the tiny (normal to them) portions that are served to European customers.

In Sweden, I worked as a teacher in three different schools. In none of them did vending machines provide the day’s lunch. Instead, students received well-balanced meals of homemade quality, served in quiet dining halls often lit up by candles and quiet conversation.

As a teacher whose experience had been in urban Los Angeles, I found this amazing. I noticed very little drowsiness in the morning among my Swedish students, no sugar highs or crashes in the afternoons. No wild behavior throughout the day.

I’m not a nutritionist, but I’d bet it had everything to do with a healthy diet.

My whole lifestyle changed. Without need for a car, I walked nearly everywhere — to work, stores, museums, movie theatres. When I didn’t walk, I took very good public transportation. The result within a few months was a slimmer, better-feeling me.

When I returned to the United States, I wanted nothing more than to sink my teeth into a pile of taquitos with fresh guacamole at El Cholo in Los Angeles. In fact, I demanded to be driven there directly from the airport.

When I bit into those taquitos that I had dreamt of for so long, I was surprised. Though very tasty, they didn’t completely satisfy me.

Had my taste buds changed? Certainly, my stomach and its reaction to the grease had.

Only days after my return, I found myself wanting some crisp bread and herring with dill for lunch.

“You certainly get used to what you’re used to,” my mom always says. Coming home weighing ten pounds less, I wasn’t about to argue the point.

(Edward Barrios Acevedo is a counselor, teacher and freelance writer. He is the author of “Dancing Under The Sun” and “The Ultimate Teen Relationship Guide!” Reach him by e-mail at Edwardfactor@yahoo.com)

© 2005. Hispanic Link News Service.
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